


long story short

by illiterate



Category: Colby Brock - Fandom, Sam Golbach - Fandom, Sam and Colby, Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF, trap house - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Karate Kid, Alternate Universe - Multiverse, Alternate Universe - Parallel Universes, Gen, Parallel Universes, cross-posted to Tumblr, does not totally adhere to canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:49:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29746620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illiterate/pseuds/illiterate
Summary: Jake buys a machine that’s supposed to open a portal between universes, and Sam and Colby accidentally fix it and are transported to the Karate Kid universe. But when they accidentally change the course of events, will they be able to fix it before it’s too late?
Kudos: 3





	1. The Prologue

“Parallel universes,” Jake began, staring in the camera lens. “You’ve heard of them. Probably argued about their existence. But what if I told you that I found a way to open portals between them? Well, that’s exactly what I did. While looking on eBay for the weirdest shit I can find, I found a listing for a machine that claimed it could do exactly that. And you already know that I jumped at the opportunity to buy it. About a week ago, the machine arrived.”

Jake turned slightly, pulling the machine into the view of the camera. It was a dinky little thing, looking like a child put together. He tried to hide his laughs about the machine, and continued on.

“When it got here, it looked even worse than it does now. And it definitely didn’t transport me to Bikini Bottom. But, I did some work on it and tried to get it in working order.”

Jake paused so that he would know to edit in the footage of him working on the machine.

“But, those of you who live under a rock may be wondering what parallel universes are. I’ll explain,” Jake said. “Well, there are theories that there are multiple universes that exist alongside each other. A bunch of different scientists argue about what that looks like and how it exists. I don’t give a shit about that, though. What I do care about is that this machine claims that it somehow punches a hole through the universes and allows its users to enter whatever universe they choose.”

Jake paused to let the information sink in. Then, “But why would I be interested in something like this? Simple. Imagine the possibilities. Imagine all of the worlds you can see. This universe is so limiting, but with this machine? I could go into whatever universe I wanted. I could go anywhere and everywhere and nowhere. I could see things that some people can only dream of seeing. I could meet fucking Spongebob!”

He pushed the machine closer to the camera. “So, I fixed up this machine and tried to give it a shot. And…it failed. Horrifically. I’m pretty sure it caught on fire at one point.” He laughed. “I wasted a hundred bucks on a piece of fucking junk. But, hey, I guess that’s my fault for trusting some bogus eBay listing. I mean, look at it! I could probably throw this together with my eyes closed and say that it does some impossible thing and make a killing! At least I can have a cool decoration and an interesting story to go along with it.”

Jake went through his outro and turned off the camera. After probably the third take, he was pretty sure he got enough for a good video. Now, it was time to find a place to put the hunk of junk. It didn’t match the aesthetic of his room in the slightest, but he was sure that it would go well with the craziness of the living room. After all, it would fit right in with the wall of White Claw boxes.So, he picked up the piece of garbage and began its transport to the living room.

When he reached the living room, he greeted Sam, who was watching _The Karate Kid_. “Sup, brother,” he said.

“Not much,” Sam said, looking over at the machine. “Uh, whatcha got there?”

“Oh this? It’s supposed to open portals between universes. I got it for a video and fixed it up, but it still didn’t work.”

“That’s hardly a surprise,” Sam laughed. “Hope you didn’t pay too much for it.”

Sam eyed the machine. It hardly looked like anything special. He wondered why Jake would even bother buying the damn thing, but then he remembered it was Jake. The same man who was going to just give their address to a known serial killer. The same man who bought a giant, inflatable dog that said “Trap House Rules” and put it on their roof when they already struggle with fans turning up to the house _without_ a giant signal pointing them in the right direction. So, yeah, maybe it wasn’t that out of character for Jake to buy something that was visually the equivalent of a potato clock and scientifically the equivalent of the flat earth theory and anti-vaxx moms.

“Eh, the video will make up for it,” Jake shrugged, placing the machine on the side table next to the couch. “Anyways, I figure it at least looks interesting enough that we can tell stories about it.”

“True,” Sam said. “Now we can tell all of our friends how you wasted who knows how much money on something that was doomed to fail.”

Jake snorted. “We love the optimism.”

“I try.”

Once content with the placement of the machine, Jake turned to leave. “Well, keep up that winning attitude, brother.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Jake left the room, and Sam was left alone for a moment. But, as he watched as Bobby Brown severely injured Daniel LaRusso’s leg in the All Valley Tournament, his best friend and partner in crime entered the room. Colby’s eyes immediately zeroed in on the piece of junk that Jake bought, and he asked, “Hey, what’s that?”

Sam looked over at it. “Some piece of junk Jake bought. It’s supposed to open portals to other universes or something.”

“Didn’t work?” Colby crossed the room to examine the machine.

“That’s what Jake said. I’m surprised he didn’t burn down the house with that thing.”

“Me too,” Colby said. “Cause there’s a bunch of loose wires in here.”

“What?” Sam was on his feet, interested in what Colby discovered.

“See? All of these wires aren’t connected. Here, let’s just—” Colby took the wires and started to attach them with what looked right. And then—

Nothing.

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

But then, the machine began to vibrate and light radiated from its core. The boys shared a glance before both leaned into to look at the machine. “What the fuck is happening?” Colby asked.

Before Sam got answer, the light glowed so bright that Sam couldn’t see anything. And, when it finally dimmed, neither he nor Colby remained. Only a TV playing in the background as John Kreese shouted, “ _Finish him!_ ”


	2. Chapter One: The Fuck Up

When they could finally see again, it became incredibly obvious that they weren’t at the Trap House anymore. They were…on a beach? And it was night? But it had just been bright and sunny out. Sam knew for a fact that it was no later than 1:00pm when Jake came down with that weird machine. How did they end up here? Did…Did Jake’s piece of junk _actually_ work? Did Colby actually find a way to fix it? But then…where were they exactly? What parallel universe were they taken to? 

Colby looked to Sam, his brows furrowed together. “Do you know where we are?” 

“It…looks familiar?” Sam said. “But I don’t—”

Then it hit him.

No, like _actually_ hit him.

A soccer ball flew into his side, startling him. He caught it quickly, noticing a guy running up to the duo. The guy said, “Hey, sorry about that!”

“It’s all good,” Sam said, tossing him the ball. Then, when he realized who he was looking at, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. The guy with longish black hair, shorter than average, and an odd sort of signature walk. That was—

“Hey, you wanna join us?” the guy asked.

Colby grinned, and said, “Yeah, sure! I’m Colby, and this is Sam.” 

“I’m Daniel,” the guy said, jogging over to his group of friends, motioning for them to follow.

“ _That’s Daniel LaRusso,_ ” Sam said.

“Who?” Colby asked. “Do we know him or something?” 

Sam shook his head. “No, he’s… _That’s_ the karate kid.” 

“I thought that was Jaden Smith? And didn’t that movie take place in China?” 

Sam frowned. Did Colby really not know? “No, that was the remake. That’s the original karate kid!”

“Oh, cool,” Colby said as they finally reached the group of guys. “He’s cool, right? Like the good guy?”

“Apparently, that’s debatable in the fandom, but yes, he’s the good guy,” Sam whispered, trying to make sure the others couldn’t hear. He had a bad feeling about all of this, like they really, really shouldn’t be there, but he didn’t know what else to do. 

“Hey guys!” Daniel was saying to the guys gathered around the fire. “This is Sam and Colby. Is it cool if they join us?” 

The guys all grumbled out that it was cool, and promptly paid the duo no mind. Which Sam was honestly grateful for. At least now he could talk to Colby about what had happened somewhat freely.

“We’re in _The Karate Kid_ ,” Sam whispered to Colby. “This isn’t good. We need to find a way home.” 

“But how?” Colby said back, tugging on his sweatshirt sleeves. “The machine didn’t come with us. What the fuck are we supposed to do?” 

“I don’t know, but we need to figure it out and soon. I’m getting a bad feeling about us being here.”

While they talked, Sam realized that they were being watched. He froze when he saw Daniel was looking their way. For a brief moment, he wondered if he and Colby were stage-whispering like they often did when they were exploring abandoned places so the camera could still pick up on their voices. But, he followed Daniel’s gaze and realized that the boy was looking just beyond him, at a group of girls nearby. 

As he reached that conclusion, a boy that Sam recognized as Freddy Fernandez say to Daniel, “Hey Danny, hey Danny!”

“What? What?” Daniel asked.

“I think the blonde is looking at you.” 

Daniel glanced over at who Sam knew to be Ali Mills, and he said, “Oh, yeah right.” 

“I’m serious! I think she has the hots for you, man,” Freddy insisted. 

“Who could blame her. Right Freddy?”

“Yeah? Then why don’t you make a move?” 

“Nah, I’m eating, man,” Daniel said.

“How could you think about eating, man? Go make a move!”

“No, I’m hungry!”

Another boy joined the conversation, teasing, “Maybe they ain’t got no moves where he comes from.”

“Nah, I got moves where I come from!”

“Oh? Let’s see.” Freddy dropped the soccer he was holding and kicked it towards the girls. “Go on, buddy, go get it!”

Sam, Colby, and the rest of the guys watched as Daniel walked up to the girls, Ali meeting him halfway with the ball. The girl held onto the ball, asking, “Hey, did you lose something?” 

“Yeah, I hope we’re not bothering you,” Daniel apologized.

Ali gave him a bright smile as she asked, “Hey, how do you juggle?” 

“Oh, it’s pretty easy!” Daniel said, taking the ball that Ali was handing him. “It’s, uh…You…I, uh, start on my knee.” He dropped the ball onto his knee and hit it. “You just go one, you know, one at a time. Then you try two. One, two,” he said, hitting the ball against his knee twice. “You try!…Three, four…”

“Three, four,” Ali echoed, still smiling at him.

“Try it, just bring your leg up,” Daniel encouraged. Ali hit the ball against her knee. Daniel cheered, “Good!”

Sam smiled as he watched them, knowing that they would, at least for a little bit, be a sweet couple. He leaned over to Colby and whispered, “That’s Ali Mills. She and Daniel are going to end up together, but not without Ali’s ex Johnny ruining things for a little bit. See, he’s the real bully of the franchise, despite what some of the fans think. He and his friends bully Daniel mercilessly.”

Colby was nodding, watching as Ali kicked the ball away and Daniel chased after it when a bunch of motorcycles could be heard coming down the hill. Sam said, “Oh, shit, here they come now!”

But Colby wasn’t paying attention to what Sam was saying. No, he was focused on the way that blond guy was speaking to Ali. And it enraged him to see someone like to a girl who seemed so sweet like that. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but he found himself walking over to them as the blond threw Ali’s radio on the ground.

“Hey!” Colby said. “You shouldn’t do shit like that!”

The blond turned and sneered at him. “Oh, and what are you going to do about it, punk?”

“What’s it matter?” Colby said, picking up the radio to hand back to Ali.

“Don't touch it!” the blond said. But Colby ignored him, starting to hand the radio back to Ali. The blond grabbed it before she could and he said, “What? Are you deaf or something?” 

“Nah, I’m just not a jackass,” Colby countered. 

Sam, who had tried to pull Colby away when he realized what his partner in crime doing, felt his chest tighten. _Shit, shit, shit, they were definitely not supposed to be doing something like this!_

“You want it? You got it!” Johnny sneered, shoving Colby back as he threw the radio at him.

Colby scrambled up to his feet, looking angrier than Sam had ever seen him before. But before Colby could uncharacteristically swing at Johnny, Daniel LaRusso stepped in for the boy he didn’t even know, and charged at Johnny. Johnny was quick to stick his leg out, tripping Daniel. And, as Daniel pushed himself to his feet, Colby made the first swing that Sam had seen in a long time—probably ever. Had Colby ever fought before? But, without much time to dwell on it, Sam caught Colby as his friend fell back, clutching his stomach that Johnny had hit. Before the assault on Colby could continue, Daniel was back on his feet and charging at Johnny once more. Johnny tripped him again. 

“Stop it! Stop it!” Ali screamed. 

Johnny turned, raising his hands innocently. “I didn’t do anything!”

Daniel fell into a fighting stance and swung at Johnny. He was quick to hit the smaller boy, causing Daniel to double over and fall to the ground. 

“Look, you started this,” Johnny said to Ali when Daniel didn’t make a move to get up again. “All I wanted to do was talk to you.”

“Well, just leave him alone and we’ll go talk!”

“Yeah, where did I hear that before?” Johnny walked back over to Daniel and asked, “What about you hero? You have enough?”

But Daniel shot back up, swinging a fist at Johnny and striking him in the mouth. Daniel said, “Okay, okay, man, now we’re even!”

“No mercy,” Johnny said, landing several strikes in a row on Daniel as his friends egged him on. Johnny turned to Colby, who was being propped up by Sam. “What about you?” 

Sam said for Colby, who was still struggling to catch his breath, “He’s done.” 

“Smart choice.”

Johnny looked to his friends, appearing ready to leave, when Ali grabbed his jacket sleeve and hit him in the arm. “Why don’t you hit me?” Ali seethed. 

“It’s your fault!” Johnny snapped. 

“It’s not!”

“It’s your fault!”

“Yeah, you ever think it’s your fault? Why do you always have to fight, huh?”

Johnny scoffed. “Bullshit.” To his friends, he said, “Get on your bikes, guys.” 

Johnny and his friends rode off, Dutch running over Ali’s radio with his motorcycle. Meanwhile, the crowd dispersed as everyone began to leave. Sam took the opportunity to lead Colby away from everyone so that he could find a place to rest.

“C’mon,” he said, helping Colby walk. “Let’s get outta here.”

“D’you think we did a bad thing?” Colby muttered as they got further from the teenagers.

“Oh, I think we fucked up bad.” 

Behind them, a voice that Sam didn’t recognize in the slightest said, “Oh, you did. You fucked up real bad.”


	3. Chapter Two: The Agent

Sam turned to look over his shoulder as he led Colby to a large rock to sit down on. A girl was following them. She was small, maybe around Tara’s height, and looked infinitely more terrifying than that four-foot-eleven devil. Her brown hair was pulled into a braid, loose pieces falling out. It looked like she had been in a fight with her disheveled clothes and fresh bruises blooming on her arms and face. Whether she won or lost, Sam couldn’t tell. But what he could tell was that he didn’t want to be on the receiving end of her fury. There was something unhinged about her—collected in an odd sort of way, but unhinged nonetheless.

“Who the fuck are you?” Sam asked, helping Colby sit down on the rock.

“Agent 77 of the Multidimensional Travel Division,” she said, her eyes unblinking. Did she blink? Had she blinked once since Sam saw her?

“What? Why are you here?” Colby wheezed.

She pursed her lips and said, “I’ve received reports that two…imbeciles have been messing with this universe. I’ve come to set things straight.”

Sam’s chest tightened again. So, he was right. They really shouldn’t have done what they did. Well, what Colby did, but he was ready to take the fall for his friend. If Colby had to go down, then Sam would go too. It was only right. 

Sam asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your little…intervention there just changed the course for this entire universe,” Agent 77 explained. “And we need to make things right.”

“Can’t we just leave?” Colby asked. 

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. Was she related to Tara? Her energy matched Tara’s so well that Sam might’ve mistaken them for relatives. “You can’t leave until this is fixed. Come on. I’ve got a place for us to stay.” 

Sam tensed. He may be a bit on the naïve side from time to time, but he knew better than to just run off with some strange woman in a strange universe that he didn’t even know. “Why should we go with you? We don’t know who you are. How can we trust you to not just kill or something?”

“I suppose that’s just a risk you’re going to have to take. You’re in a strange universe that you can’t even begin to navigate. Let’s be real, you could never survive in the eighties on your own. You’re far too reliant on the technology you grew up with. Technology you don’t have. Not to mention, you don’t even have any sort of money on you. And, even if you did, you’d be accused of having counterfeits or making a fake credit card or some shit. You couldn’t survive out here on your own,” she said. “I’m all you got.” 

Sam grit his teeth, looking down at Colby, who was still clutching his stomach. “…fine. Where are we going?” 

* * *

Agent 77 drove the duo to the South Seas apartment complex in some shoddy station wagon. It almost looked as poorly put together as that stupid machine that brought them here. For a fleeting moment, Sam wondered if the car was going to transport them back to their home universe. But, no, instead, it only took them to the very same apartment complex that Daniel LaRusso had moved into. Was…was this part of the plan? 

She ignored all of Sam’s questions until they entered Apartment 14. It was well-furnished, as if someone had been living there for a long time. She directed the duo to the couch, before disappearing to the bathroom. She returned a moment later with a first aid kit, but it was…different? It looked more high tech than anything Sam had seen before, much less something that could exist in the eighties. She pulled some sort of balm out, and directed Colby to lay down on the couch. He complied, stretching out, and Sam moved so he was sitting on the arm of the couch so Colby had room. Wordlessly, Agent 77 lifted Colby’s sweatshirt and applied the balm where he had been hit. Almost instantly, the balm started to glow, much like that stupid fucking machine had glowed earlier. And, just as suddenly, it stopped.

Sam watched with bated breath as Colby sat up, his hand caressing his former injury as he stared at the agent in awe. “What was that?”

“Special concoction made by the MTD. Comes in handy,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said.

“It’s no issue. Can’t have you injured now.” She put the balm away and closed the kit. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

“But I don’t understand why we have to do anything,” Colby said. 

“This universe may be fictional where you’re from, but here, everything is very, very real. There’s a projected path this universe is supposed to stay on, and anything that happens that can alter it becomes the MTD’s business.”

“So, when Colby intervened…?” 

“He wrecked the course this universe is supposed to be on.” 

Colby blinked slowly. Sam realized that he probably didn’t understand, as the boy had never seen _The Karate Kid_ before. He probably didn’t even realize what he had done was wrong, in this universe’s terms anyways. That was confirmed when Colby said, “I…I don’t understand.”

Agent 77 pursed her lips. “When you intervened in that fight, however noble you were trying to be, shifted the course of events. That moment was pivotal in nursing the rivalry that would develop between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. But, because you stepped in, that rivalry was pulled away from Daniel. There is a risk now, a quite sizable risk, to be frank, that Johnny’s aggression would focus on _you_ instead of Daniel. And that changes everything.” 

Sam said to Colby, who still looked confused, “Johnny is Daniel’s enemy in the first _Karate Kid_ movie. He’s the reason Daniel was taught karate by Mr. Miyagi and why he became the titular karate kid. If Johnny doesn’t become Daniel’s enemy, Daniel doesn’t get bullied by the Cobra. And if Daniel doesn’t get bullied by the Cobras, he doesn’t take up karate and doesn’t compete in the All Valley Tournament. If he doesn’t do that, he doesn’t win the tournament, and if he doesn’t win—well, that affects two more movies and a TV show.”

Agent 77 nodded. “It’s crucial that we make this right.” 

“But…what can we do?” Colby asked. 

“The MTD wants us to all go undercover at West Valley High School and stoke the flames of the rivalry.” 

“How?” Sam asked, his brows furrowing together. Sure, him and Colby could pass as high schools. Sure, Colby’s tattoos might make that less believable, but otherwise they look like teenagers still. 

“Well, we’re gonna have to wing it,” Agent 77 said. 

Sam’s jaw dropped. Everything…all of these high stakes rested on a woman who wanted to wing it? Improvise? Was there not some grander plan? He asked, “Wing it? I thought you were an agent!” 

She paused, then said slowly, “…agent in training, technically. But I was the only one in the right age range to make this work.” 

“Good God, we’re doomed,” Sam said. 

“Not necessarily—”

“Okay, fine, let’s assume we’re not doomed outright. How are Colby and I going to pass as high schoolers? I mean, yeah, we look young and all, but Colby’s tattoos give away that he’s older. And they’re not even shit tattoos that most high schoolers get! People will know something’s up!”

Agent 77 looked over at Colby for a moment, then said, “There should be something here to obscure the tattoos to anyone who looks at him. Like makes it so the three of us can see the tattoos but no one else can. If not, I can request it. Or we can go with good old-fashioned makeup.” 

Sam nodded. “Well…fine. I guess this’ll have to work. But what about, like, documents and shit? And what’s our story? And—”

“I have all of that taken care of. And I’ll brief you in the morning on the cover story. For now, it’s best we all go to sleep. We’ll need to be well rested for what’s to come.” Agent 77 rose and pointed to a door. “There’s two beds in there. You two can take that room, and I’ll take the other. Goodnight.” 

“Wait,” Colby said. Agent 77 looked at him, her brow raised. “I just…if we have to go to school together, can we at least have your name?” 

“Arden. You can call me Arden Gaumont.”


End file.
